Is `Contact' Too Close Between Cnn, Moviemakers?

On TV

PASADENA, CALIF. — Jodie Foster may be the star of ``Contact,'' but she's not the one getting all the attention.

That's because ``Contact,'' the latest feature film from Robert Zemeckis, the man who gave us ``Forrest Gump,'' is a movie with problems, problems that go beyond the world of movie-making.

Way beyond.

They start with television and involve the President of the United States, but ultimately concern our perception of reality.

The White House has already complained that the film, which revolves around what appears to be a message to Earth from aliens, took liberties with President Clinton's words and image by convincingly splicing, dicing and morphing them into this multimillion-dollar fiction.

But it's the wall-to-wall inclusion of a dozen or so CNN broadcasters -- talk show host Larry King, national correspondent John Holliman, anchorman Bernard Shaw and others -- that is the most troubling. Because, unlike the president, they were not manipulated into the movie. They were willing participants.

Moreover, they were journalists from a premier worldwide newsgathering organization, playing themselves and at great length in a feature-film fantasy.

It's not the first time journalists have crossed such a line, appearing in movies such as ``Crimson Tide'' or

TV series such as CBS's ``Murphy Brown.'' Even Walter Cronkite appeared on ``The Mary Tyler Moore Show.''

But it is, without question, the biggest sellout en masse of journalistic integrity, the most egregious example of what can happen when entertainment values and promotional considerations overwhelm news judgment.

Like aliens, it has to be seen to be believed.

Tom Johnson, president and CEO of CNN News Group -- feeling the heat from TV critics here the other day at the 1997 Summer Press Tour here -- all but apologized for CNN's significant role in ``Contact.''

Though Johnson said he had generally opposed the use of CNN personnel in movies in the past, he noted there had been case-by-case exceptions to the rule (as has been true at other networks). But with ratings recently in decline, Johnson admitted to letting down his guard ``out of this whole potential for cross-promotion . . . where we would be able to be again shown as the network where people go for breaking news.'' (``Contact'' is produced by Warner Bros., which is part of the same corporate family as CNN. But Johnson stressed that there was no pressure from Time Warner bosses for CNN talent to be part of the film.)

Assured by the film's producers that ``there would not be any manipulation of any of our talent'' Johnson believed a basic television message would be sent via the big screen, namely: ``If news hit the fan, CNN is the place to turn for it.''

Now, looking back, he said, ``I believe that the use of a CNN logo is probably OK [but] I think that the use of our journalists and correspondents was not OK. . . . It's fair to say it blurs the line.'' CNN's policy, as a result, is now under review.

CNN Senior White House Correspondent Wolf Blitzer said he was asked to be in ``Contact'' but declined.

In fact, Blitzer told critics he has been asked to be in 20 or more movies in recent years. But he always has said no.

``I don't think we have to take ourselves all that seriously,'' he said. Nevertheless, he said, ``For me, personally, I didn't want to confuse what I do for a living -- which is stand on the north lawn of the White House and report real news -- with being in a full-screen motion picture and report what is not real news.''

Why the rest of Blitzer's colleagues at CNN and CNN management didn't see it the same way is a bit baffling, especially in an age where what you get isn't always what you're seeing. Or think you're seeing.

Perhaps it's a matter of degree.

CBS's Bryant Gumbel, who also appears in ``Contact,'' albeit briefly, said that as far as his role was concerned, ``I don't think it's that big a deal. I think it's much ado about nothing. If I had an extended part in the movie or a co-starring role that's one thing, but I'm not exactly up for an Oscar.''

CBS News President Andrew Heyward says,``My rule of thumb is, if there's any possibility of confusion or any use of the journalist's credibility to enhance a fictional product, I generally say no. I've said no to quite a few of them. We don't have a hard-and-fast rule but as a matter of principle, I lean against it.''